Arcane co-creator promises ‘we’ll learn from it’ after fans’ frustrations over Netflix show’s ‘rushed’ final season
- Christian Linke says he “understands and respects” Arcane fan complaints about the “rushed” second season
- The show’s co-creator admits that some issues are “a symptom” of the show’s two-season format
- Linke added, “It’s always nice to have more time” to develop a show that everyone loves
One of ArcaneThe series’ co-creators have promised “we will learn from it” after fans criticized the award-winning show’s “rushed” second season.
Speaking exclusively to TechRadar after the final three episodes of Arcane Season 2 aired last Saturday (November 23), Christian Linke acknowledged Arcane‘s second and final season was not to everyone’s taste. He also revealed that the show’s main creative team “wants to learn” from this season’s mistakes as they continue to work on it Arcane‘s follow-up projects, which are currently in development.
Linke’s comments come in the wake of numerous fan complaints about the sophomore outings of one of Netflix’s top shows. A major criticism among viewers has been this season’s pacing and story structure, with many describing the pace as faster than its more methodical, character-driven predecessor. Add to that the grievances over the unnecessary introduction of new characters, the sidelining of key supporting characters, and the minimalist approach to some key storylines, and fans have not held back in their evaluation of the final installment of the animated series.
Featuring the final three episodes of season 2 – read more about it in my Arcane Season 2 Act 3 Ending Explained – Now that this particular story has come to a close, Linke and company have had time to reflect on what worked and what didn’t. And while Linke ‘understands’ and ‘respects’ the opinions of those who were not entirely charmed by this League of Legends (Lol) in the final chapter of the adaptation, he would also like to point out how ‘difficult’ it would have been to please everyone.
“I understand them,” Linke told me when asked if he accepted that criticism. “I also respect that people feel that way. We must listen and learn from it.
‘We’re making this for an audience of people, not just for ourselves [but] it’s hard. On the one hand, the vast majority of people seem to like it the way it is, and that’s great. There are also people who say it is a hurry [and] There’s too much going on, and I understand that.
There’s a specific pace and a specific way we did things in season one… we wanted to do things a little differently in season two
Christian Linke, Arcane co-creator
“There is also a downside to that opinion,” Linke continued. “There are a lot of fans asking, ‘Why isn’t Camille, who is part of Piltover, in the story?’ or ‘why isn’t Blitzcrank there?’ or ‘where’s Twitch?’ – like, where do we record them or other Lol champions? There’s an economy in animation and it’s always nice to have more time, but this is the time we had [to make this show].
“For people who watched season two because they loved season one, I imagine they could have been disappointed because there was a specific pace and a specific way we did things in season one. Yes, we changed it for season. two – we wanted to do things a little differently in season two, so yeah, I understand that, I respect that, and I want to learn from that.
Linke’s comments about having “more time” will certainly pique the interest of some readers. Before the initial launch of Season 2 on November 9, rumors were swirling Arcane would last five seasons – speculation Linke and fellow creator Alex Yee downplayed to me, saying it was “never the plan” for the series to last that long. Nevertheless, fans will be just as intrigued by Linke also suggesting that season 2’s problems were a “symptom” of the Netflix show being a duology rather than a much larger multi-season project.
“I think part of the problem is that it’s a symptom of… Arcane It’s going to be two seasons,” Linke added. “I don’t know if fans would have felt that way if season one hadn’t had a slower pace. But it’s a learning process for those of us who make this stuff, and we want to learn from it. We don’t want to make something that’s shocking, so this is all part of the learning process.”
Look out for more information about my exclusive chat with Linke in the near future. In the meantime, read more on my Arcane coverage below.
